There are a variety of snow-plow blades configurations, however a commonly used configuration includes a blade, a cover-plate, and an insert. The insert is the portion of the blade that provides the most contact with ground being plowed. In addition, the blade may make contact with the snow, sleet, slush, and other deposits on the ground. The insert is constructed of a very hard material, usually carbide. Carbide is very hard but also very brittle. These properties give the insert a long wear life but make it susceptible to fractures. The blade is usually constructed from steel, providing some protection for the insert, but not the portion that is outside the blade. In order to provide additional protection for the insert portion of the blade, a cover-plate is usually affixed to the blade. The cover-plate often comes in contact with the ground and road obstacles, including but not limited to bridge joints, manholes, catch basins, and rocks.
A standard municipal snow-plow mold board can accommodate a 132 inch (3.35 m) snow-plow blade but it is common that the snow-plow blades are attached in segments. The blades usually come in widths of 36 inch (0.91 m), 48 inch (1.22 m), and inch (3.35 m) segments. It is common to use three blades for easier connection to the mold board. However, it is also common for the cover-plate to be 132 inches (3.35 m), in order to cover the entire blade width. This configuration includes most municipal plow types and applications, including: front plows, reversible plows, and wing plows or side plows.
The standard V-Blade plows generally come in two sizes, 102 inches (2.59 m) or inches (2.9 m). It is also common that snow-plow blades for the V-Blade are attached in segments, with segments commonly being 40⅞ inches (1.04 m) or 46⅞ inches (1.19 m). Cover-plates are generally sized to the blade or segment.
The weight of the blades, inserts and cover-plate can be several hundred pounds, since cover plates may be affixed to multiple blades prior to attachment to a mold board. Currently, snow-plow blades are manually attached to the mold board and require multiple people to attach it. This poses a safety concern due to the weight and size of the cover-plate in a heavy equipment and extreme weather environment.
Cover-plates also tend to be a lot higher than necessary, often covering most of the blade. Blades are relatively sturdy and generally require the cover only to protect the portion of the blade that contains the insert. Thus a lot of material is wasted when the blades and cover-plate are discarded. Because of the harsh environment in which plows operate, insert and blade wear are often difficult to detect in this configuration. This leads to too frequent blade and insert changes or blades and inserts that are used beyond their useful service life, leading to material waste or plow damage or poor snow removal.
Snow plows blades also need to be configured for the appropriate plow attack angle. In a snow storm, this can lead to delays in plowing service as multiple blade parts may need to be attached to a mold board and configured during blade changes to accommodate different attack angles for different plowing configurations.
The current invention provides a lighter snow-plow blade construction that provides longer blade and insert life but is light enough for a single person to replace. It further provides easily visible blade wear indication and streamlined attack angle configuration. The current invention also provides a snow-plow blade design that uses less cover-plate material, creating less waste material in both the construction and disposal of snow-plow blades.
Disclosed herein in certain preferred embodiments is snow-plow blade and cover-plate: comprising a blade, an insert, and a crenellated cover-plate.